Kissam House - Huntington

 Dr. Daniel Whitehead Kissam came to Huntington from Glen Cove in 1795 to practice medicine. In 1661, John Wescott built a house here and sold it to Thomas Powell in 1663. The house passed through several different owners and may have been used to quarter British troops during the revolution. Timothy Jarvis, a housewright, acquired the property and built the present house for Dr. Kissam. In 1840, Dr. Charles Sturges, the son-in-law of Dr. Kissam, added a “modern” kitchen wing and converted the old kitchen to a formal dining room. 

Sometime in the 1830s, with two families living in the house, it was remodeled. The back parlor had been converted into an apartment for Dr. Kissam and his wife. In order to compensate for the lost room and to adhere to the new fashion, the kitchen was converted into a dining room with Egyptian Revival details. An extension was built to the rear to accommodate a new, modern kitchen. Dr. Kissam died in 1840 and left to house to Charles Sturges.

The Sturges’ turned the original kitchen into a formal dining room and added the “new” kitchen to the rear of the house in 1840. They lived in the house until 1857, then it was owned by the Owen, Fuller and Taylor families until the Huntington Historical Society purchased it in 1967 from Hilda Taylor.

Today, the house, which has been restored to its 1830s appearance, and barn are used for educational programs, tours and festivals. Restoration and reinterpretation of the interior was begun by the Society in 1984. The home is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sources:

Blough, Kay. “No. 88: Dr. Daniel W. Kissam House Museum.” Huntington, NY Patch, Patch, 20 Apr. 2011, patch.com/new-york/huntington/no-88-dr-daniel-w-kissam-house-museum. 

 “The Dr. Daniel Whitehead Kissam House .” Town of Huntington, www.huntingtonny.gov/filestorage/13747/99540/16499/Dr._Daniel_Whitehead_Kissam_House.pdf. Accessed 17 June 2024. 

“Kissam Property.” Huntington Historical Society, www.huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org/kissam-property.html. Accessed 17 June 2024.